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August 2013

POPLARVILLE - The Pearl River Community College Alumni Association is looking for alumni to attend homecoming reunions. The association will host a 10-year reunion for the four 2003-04 athletic teams which won state championships - men’s soccer, men’s basketball, baseball and football. Also planned are reunions of the 2002-03 women’s Region 23 champion basketball team and the soccer championship teams of 2005, 2009 and 2012. Homecoming will also include the traditional 50-year reunion of the Class of 1963 along with a gathering of associate degree nursing graduates. Homecoming will be celebrated on Saturday, Oct. 19, with the PRCC Sports Hall of Fame induction, reunions and the Alumni Luncheon before the 2 p.m. football game against East Central Community College. Members of any of the reunion groups are asked to contact Alumni Coordinator Candace Harper for information and to be included on a mailing list. Harper can be reached at 601-403-1183 or by email at charper@prcc.edu.

POPLARVILLE - Open registration at the Poplarville campus of Pearl River Community College will be Thursday and Friday, Aug. 8 and 9. Registration will be open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday and Friday. Day and night classes begin Monday, Aug. 12. Online classes begin Monday, Aug. 26. For more information, telelphone 601 403-1377 or go to the website at www.prcc.edu.

POPLARVILLE – Pearl River Community College student Sarah Bienvenu is not sure how she was going to pay for college this year if she had not won the 2013 Tuition Giveaway contest.

Bienvenu, 20, a 2011 Pearl River Central honors graduate, says the money contributed to her education will not be wasted.

“All of my family members encouraged me to enter the contest,” said Bienvenu. “I went out on a limb and wrote some stuff about myself. It really is a blessing.”

Bienvenu was recently selected as the winner of the third annual Tuition Giveaway contest, a promotion PRCC held in conjunction with Hattiesburg Coca-Cola and radio stations SL-100 and Wild 106.3.

Live radio promotions, featuring free soft drinks and t-shirts, were held to advertise the contest in Hattiesburg, Oak Grove, Petal, Purvis, Sumrall, Columbia and Poplarville.

Contestants had to tell their story through online submissions.

We had many student applicants who have had to overcome challenges and adversities, said Chuck Abadie, public relations director at PRCC. We had more than 140 submissions. Picking a winner was very difficult.

Bienvenu, the daughter of Bobby Bienvenu and Robin Koval of Picayune, is a student in the Medical Radiologic Technology program at PRCC. She will be a commuting student this fall at the Forrest County Center in Hattiesburg.

“It really is hard having to go back and forth to school every day for class with the cost of gas,” said Bienvenu. “This will really help a lot. I am not sure I could do it without this help.”

A portion of her submission included the following:

“I am a go getter when it comes to life. I always put my best foot forward when it comes to my dreams. I won’t compromise…

“If I receive this money, I would be so thankful to be chosen, and so blessed to have such an opportunity. Money is a big concern for college students, but I won’t let that discourage me. I will do what it takes to earn my degree to help diagnose and treat diseases that doctors couldn’t see without the use of radiographs.”

Russ Hendley, Division Vice-President for Hattiesburg Coca-Cola, said he was thrilled with Bienvenu’s selection. It's great when you do a promotion and the winner is so grateful and deserving. Her story was so moving.

The 2011 winner was Kendall Laster of Hattiesburg. The 2012 winner was Amanda Blount of Hattiesburg.PHOTO CAPTION:HATTIESBURG - Pearl River Community College student Sarah Bienvenu of Carriere was selected as the winner of the third annual Tuition Giveaway contest, a promotion PRCC held in conjunction with Hattiesburg Coca-Cola and radio stations SL-100 and Wild 106.3. Pictured at the awards ceremony are from left: Jeff Bryant of Hattiesburg Coca-Cola, Vickie Wilberding of Clear Channel Radio, Russ Hendley of Hattiesburg Coca-Cola, SL-100 radio personality Shaggy, Candace Harper, Pearl River Community College alumni coordinator; Bienvenu, WILD 106 radio personality Big Daddy, Martin's IGA/Sunflower manager Keelan Jones, Kim Brown and Russell Boltz, both of Hattiesburg Coca-Cola.PRCC Public Relations photo

POPLARVILLE—Healthy People Now! Productions is announcing a casting call for a number of short films currently in pre-production. Healthy People Now! Productions (HPN!), a consortium of the Pearl River Community College Office of Public Relations, Department of Nursing Education, Honors Institute and PRCC Film Productions, scripts and films health-related shorts (10 to 20-min. in length) dealing with psycho-social issues as brought about by natural and man-made disasters, family trauma, abuse, bullying and other related stressors and delivers these instructional and factual films on the Internet. With almost 16,000 hits to the HPN! youtube site, the program has grown from school placement to reaching thousands of students each year through a combination of delivery systems.Actors are not paid, but they will receive listing in the credits. The actor will be on a professional working film set with a dedicated crew of students learning film production. Some Healthy People Now! productions are currently listed on IMDb.com, the Internet movie database (See: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3655475 for a complete listing).This program will be casting for students and adults of both genders ages 6 years and up and is looking for both actors and voice talent. The call will take place by appointment from 2-8 p.m. Friday, Aug. 23, and 9 a.m.-7 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 24. Actors are requested to bring a head shot if they have one. Walk-ins are welcome but are not guaranteed an audition. HPN! is looking for all genders, ethnicities, and body types.Actors who have previously auditioned for Healthy People Now! but have not acted in an HPN! production for more than two years will need to update their audition. HPN! will accept an updated head shot and an updated audition tape. Any actors who are not able to make this audition, may make and send an audition tape. Actors will be casting for three HPN! Productions and one PRCC film production class project. The projects include “Evermore,” “Pardon My Smoke,” “15,” and “The Cutters Club.” The PRCC film production class project is casting an adult male (55 and up) and two boys around 11 years old for the narration sequence of a feature-length documentary, “The Road Less Traveled.” Actors need to be able to commit lengthy dialog passages to memory for this role.For more information or to set an audition appointment, call Ronn Hague, 601-403-1316 from 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday-Friday. Leave a message if no answer. For questions, email rhague@prcc.edu.

Sophomore Joshua Boney of Hattiesburg and his mother, Lydia Jordan, carry items into Lamar Hall at Pearl River Community College on Sunday, Aug. 11. Classes begin Monday.

Pearl River Community College cheerleader Jason Gibson of Picayune carries a shelf to Forrest Hall for Miranda Mardis of Lucedale (at rear of vehicle) as cheerleader Cory Willis of Carriere prepares to pick up a load of belongings and sister Heather Mardis unloads the rear seat. Classes at PRCC begin Monday.

POPLARVILLE - Pearl River Community College recently received a $1,000 grant from the Mississippi Arts Commission for the premier event at the Ethel Holden Brownstone Center for the Arts. The money will assist with bringing the Mississippi Symphony Orchestra to PRCC on Sept. 24 for the opening concert in the new $10.4 million center. “We want to thank the Mississippi Arts Commission for their assistance in helping us bring our state’s premier performing ensemble, the Mississippi Symphony Orchestra, to our campus for this inaugural concert in our new facility,” said Archie Rawls, Brownstone Center director and chair of the PRCC Department of Fine Arts and Communication. “And we look forward to partnering with the MAC in the future as we seek to bring quality arts programming to PRCC and our surrounding communities.” The Arts Commission also played a part in the construction of the center with a $350,000 grant from the Building Fund for the Arts. The grant for the concert represents a portion of the $1.27 million in grants the commission will award in 2013-14 with funding from the Mississippi Legislature and the National Endowment for the Arts. “The creative economy has never been more vibrant that it is today in the communities across Mississippi,” said director Tom Pearson. “This agency is honored to play a small role in assisting these organizations to continue their work of reinforcing the value of the arts and the role they play in creative place-making and economic development.” General admission for the concert at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 24 is $15. Tickets can be purchased by calling the Brownstone Center Box Office at 601-403-1ART or online at http://msoconcert.brownpapertickets.com.

POPLARVILLE - Registration for Pearl River Community College on-line classes continues through 3 p.m. Friday. The on-line classes begin Monday, Aug. 26. Registration for the on-line classes is done through PRCC’s E-Learning site. If students need to speak with a counselor, they will have to come to one of PRCC’s campuses - Poplarville, the Forrest County Center in Hattiesburg or the Hancock Center in Waveland. PRCC offers approximately 120 on-line courses for the fall semester along with seven short-term courses during the first term and nine during the second term. The E-Learning site is at http://www.prcc.edu/?q=elearning. The full course schedule can be accessed under the Academics tab on the PRCC website.

POPLARVILLE - Singer Jimmy Buffett’s voice returns to Pearl River Community College this fall as part of the Spirit of the River marching band’s halftime show.Buffet provided taped narration for the show which features the music he made famous long after he attended Pearl River. “We are excited that he agreed to do it,” said Dr. Kyle Hill, director of bands. “A lot of people can do a Jimmy Buffett show, but not many can do it like we can. He made it very personal to Pearl River.” Five of Buffett’s hits are featured in the show - Fruitcakes, Fins, Changes in Attitude, Changes in Latitude; Margaritaville and Son of a Son of a Sailor. The show begins with Buffett recounting a spur-of-the-moment decision to follow a pretty girl onto campus and enrolling for his freshman year. Buffett attended PRCC in 1965-66 and is pictured in the 1966 Wildcat yearbook in Entre Nous, the French club. He introduces the five songs included in the show. “For him to take the time to do it is amazing,” said Blair Seymour, a sophomore clarinet player from Carriere. “Not many famous people would do it.” Buffett also waived royalty fees for the band. “We have to have permission to use the music and typically you have to pay for that,” Hill said. “Mr. Buffett graciously allowed us to use it without charge.” Buffett has also contributed to his alma mater by taping a spot for PRCC’s series of “I’m a Wildcat” television commercials. Buffett at the River premiers on Aug. 29 when PRCC takes on East Mississippi Community College at 7 p.m. in Dobie Holden Stadium. The pre-game show featuring the String of Pearls dancing to We Got the Beat starts at 6:45 p.m. The band is under the field direction of sophomore drum majors Adam Weatherford of Columbia, Desmond Edmondson of Hattiesburg and Heather Ruffin of Picayune. Color guard caption is Brandi Logan of Oak Grove. Co-captains are Abbie McMahon of Petal and Alicia Buckelew of Picayune. The String of Pearls captains are Victoria Farmer of Picayune and Lacey Hampton of Carriere. Lieutenants are Linzy Hudson-Kline of Picayune and Regan al-Jabi of Carriere. Michael Bass is assistant director of bands, Kara Fleming directs the String of Pearls, Chasity Hawthorn is color guard director and Ronnie Pascal is percussion instructor. Archie Rawls is chairman of the Department of Fine Arts and Communication and director of the JazzCats band.

The Spirit of the River marching band at Pearl River Community College practices the 2013 halftime show, which features the music of PRCC alumnus Jimmy Buffett.

Ashtin Harlin of Poplarville, from left, John Garner of Foxworth and Rashawn Johnson of Columbia and other members of the Spirit of the River marching band at Pearl River Community College practice the 2013 halftime show.

Spirit of the River trumpet players and the rest of the band practice the 2013 halftime show for Pearl River Community College football games. They are, from left, Kyle Tynes of Foxworth, Maggie Allen of Purvis, Kaycie Cucurullo of Kiln, Chris Fletcher of Columbia and Robert Hinton of Hattiesburg.PRCC Public Relations photos

POPLARVILLE - Pearl River Community College alumni and fans are invited to the first tailgating party of the 2013 football season at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 29, across from Dobie Holden Stadium. Theme for the party is Cheeseburger in Paradise tying in with the Spirit of the River’s Buffett at the River halftime show. The party includes kids’ activities (face painting and arts and crafts), meet and greet with the Wildcat cheerleaders and mascot W.C. Rivers, music and food. PRCC alumni and children 12 and under eat free. Guests are $5. The food will be served on a first-come, first serve basis. Children 12 and under can join the Lil’ Wildcat Club for free during the party. Membership includes entrance into all PRCC sports events with the Lil’ Wildcat membership card, pre-game tailgating activities, a Lil’ Wildcat Club coloring book, tour of the football field and recognition at halftime. Children must be accompanied by an adult. The pre-game show begins at 6:45 p.m. and kick off against East Mississippi will be at 7 p.m. For more information, telephone 601 403-1193. RSVP to charper@prcc.edu to help with a head count for the food. Sponsors are Farm Bureau of Poplarville and Coca-Cola.

The Spirit of the River marching band performs during halftime Aug. 29 at Pearl River Community College.

Kara Parker, left, and Kate Causey, both of Petal, enjoy the jumping tent during pre-game tailgating activities Aug. 29 at Pearl River Community College. The girls, both 3 years old, are the daughters of Dr. Amanda and Adam Parker and Jana and Chris Causey, respectively. The Parkers and Jana Causey work at PRCC’s Forrest County Center.

Lil' Wildcats run to greet the PRCC Wildcat mascot before the first home game.